My top 2:

• Netflix!
• Plants Vs. Zombies

My other favorites:

• Fruit Ninja HD
• Angry Birds HD
• Doodle Blast HD
• Harbor Master
• Dizzypad HD
• Godfinger
• Pac-Man
• Scrabble
• Sneezies HD
• Skrambler X
• Words with Friends HD
• Zen Bound 2

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EA says at E3 it will give sneak peaks into two yet to be released iPhone games: save the galaxy from peril in Mass Effect^TM Galaxy, or use the touch screen to conquer enemies in Command & Conquer Red Alert. And lastly, swing by the booth to line up a perfect putt on the green with Tiger Woods PGA TOUR.

Here’s EA’s mobile game lineup:

FIFA 10
From EA Canada, FIFA 10 will deliver what matters most to fans by refining the critical fundamentals in gameplay, responding to feedback from more than 250 million online games played and innovating player control.

• Platforms – PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, PlayStation®2, Nintendo DS PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) and mobile
• Available in October 2009 in North America and Europe (Europe’s street date is in Q2 FY10)
• ESRB – Rating Pending

G.I. JOE The Rise of Cobra
G.I. JOE The Rise of Cobra for all major video game consoles features an exclusive storyline that picks up where the live-action movie, from Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment, in association with Hasbro, leaves off, allowing players to re-create and re-live the greatest moments from the film, cartoon series and action figure toy line.  The game offers 16 playable characters – four of which are unlockable COBRA characters – each with unique abilities and weapons.  Adding to the adrenaline rush is an intense single-screen co-op mode allowing two players to easily unite as a team in a classic struggle between good and evil to defeat the powers of COBRA.

• Platforms – Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS and mobile devices
• Ship Date – August 2009
• ESRB Rating – E10+ for Nintendo DS; Rating Pending for console and PSP versions

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Relive the thrills, action, and excitement of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince^TM movie this summer! From EA and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game takes you to Hogwarts to help Harry survive a fraught sixth year. Engage in exciting wizard duels, mix and brew magical ingredients in Potions class, and take to the air to lead the Gryffindor Quidditch team to victory.

• Platforms – Wii, PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS, PC, Mac and mobile devices
• Ship Date – June 30, 2009 in North America; Street Date – July 3, 2009 in Europe (Europe’s street date is in Q1 FY10)
• ESRB Rating: E 10+ (ESRB)

The Sims TM 3
Let there be Sims! In The Sims 3 you can create lifelike Sims with a unique personality and take them anywhere in the neighborhood. The powerful Create-a-Sim tool allows you to create Sims that are more realistic that ever. Select from dozens of personality traits such as brave, artistic, kleptomaniac, clumsy, paranoid and romantic. With Create-a-Sim, you can create a limitless number of truly unique Sims. The Sims 3 allows for infinite possibilities to design the interior and exterior of your Sims’ surroundings using the Create-a-style feature. Additionally, you can enjoy the challenge of short-term and long-term goals and then reap the rewards! Based on personality traits, skills and career choices, your Sims have short and long term Wishes that provide constant fun challenges and so many things to do and achieve. You have the ultimate freedom to choose whether to fulfill their destiny, giving them lifetime happiness and rewards or not! Register your copy of The Sims 3 for PC and Mac at www.TheSims3.com to enjoy the robust online and community features unique to your game including an all-new town called Riverview that you can download for no additional charge once you register*. You will also gain access to 1,000 free SimPoints to purchase items from The Sims 3 Store to customize your Sims appearance and houses in all-new ways. Be the director of your Sims’ movies by capturing clips during your gameplay, visiting the official site, and editing the soundtrack, story, and transitions, then share it with the world. See what you can create with The Sims 3.

• Platforms – PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod touch and mobile devices
• Street Date – June 2, 2009
• ESRB Rating – T for Teen

* INTERNET CONNECTION required. See product pack or digital distribution rules for details.

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Not one with a 3D board (3D Brick Breaker Revolution), not one with a ton of level options (Superball 2) and not one with a funky story line and random characters (Block Breaker Deluxe 2).

The closest game out of these so far is SuperBall 2, though I’d like less options on the main menu so I can either choose to play a straight-through regular ol’ brick breaker game, or, I can choose advanced level options so then I can choose a brick breaker formation that looks like a smiley face.

I want a Brick Breaker game just like Sol Free Solitaire by Smallware.

Note how Sol Free Solitaire:

• Is available with free and paid app versions.
• Loads quickly upon opening — key for these time-waster type games that people want to pick up and play when they have a few free minutes.
• Is vertical — holding a game horizontally means two hands, while I can play a vertical game with just one hand.
• One simple menu upon opening, click once to select a game type and next screen you are playing that game.
• A simple, elegant design. I don’t care about a 3D table, crazy-styled characters and plot lines. I just want to play the game!

Sol Free Solitaire screenshots:

SuperBall 2 screenshots:

3D Brick Breaker Revolution screenshots:

Block Breaker Deluxe 2 screenshots:

Related posts from mblapps:

1. Photoshop for iPhone should focus on what it does best – image editing

I sure was. And now I have another game coming that I can’t wait for: Oregon Trail: Origins.

The game was announced today on the @TheOregonTrail Twitter account. 148Apps says the game will have a similar format as Oregon Trail, only you’ll be playing caveman rather than pioneers. That blog also says the game will be available “for all platforms.”

Images provided courtesy of Gameloft, developer of The Oregon Trail.

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Ghostbusters coming in June (via PocketGamer.uk):

The new Ghostbusters game is getting fans of the classic 1984 sci-fi comedy film very excited, as it promises to be the third instalment of the franchise (and is likely to make good on that promise).

The new console versions come complete with a story written by Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis in which players become the fifth member of the paranormal investigators and eliminators.

DirecTV available today (via IntoMobile):

DirecTV is really pushing hard to bring their DVR-scheduling service to the mobile space. Following on DirecTV’s recent launch of their web-based DVR control-interface, DirecTV has gone live with a bona fide iPhone application in the iTunes App Store.

The DirecTV iPhone app allows iPhone-toting DirecTV customers to control their home DVR (Digital Video Recorder) anywhere, anytime, with the iPhone. Users can search for shows, browse upcoming shows and set recording schedules for single episodes or an entire TV series.

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Sure, you can already pluck chickens out of a coop in Chicktionary, build cities in Textropolis or play the old classic Scrabble. But Scramble Live, the latest offering from Zynga, wants to be different.

To understand how Scramble is different means explaining Zynga’s first app for the iPhone: Live Poker. The game (Texas Hold ‘Em Poker) started on Facebook and MySpace and was added to the iPhone. In the game, from desktop or mobile, you can play against your friends who are playing from all over — MySpace, Facebook or iPhone.

“Scramble Live” wants to do the same thing — but this time for word-creating folks with an iPhone in tow and an addiction to the Facebook version. The company says Scramble on Facebook has more than 1 million monthly active users.

“Games are more fun when they are played with real friends, which is why we wanted to give iPhone and iPod Touch users the opportunity to play a classic word game with people they know,” said Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga.

Here’s how the company describes the game play (app sells for $4.99 — with a price point at $2.99 for a limited time — the game was launched today). NOTE: Check back later for a review of this app, which I’ll be testing out soon.

At the end of each round, players are shown how missed words are formed on the board.  The game includes three modes of play:

• · Solo – Play in ladder mode to beat your friends’ scores
• · Live – Play against other users in real time
• · Play & Pass – Play with up to three other people sitting next to you on the same device

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Developer Gameloft grew its mobile game sales by 18 percent in the last quarter of 2008, according to the company’s latest financial report. Now 93 percent of the company’s annual sales come from mobile games, while console games accounted for the remaining 7 percent

The report includes this commentary on the mobile games industry:

“Innovations made by conventional telephone manufacturers such as Nokia or Samsung, as well as the emergence of dynamic newcomers such as Apple and Google, are boosting the mobile games industry.”

Gameloft’s iPhone games include: Hero of Sparta, Brothers in Arms, UNO, Asphalt 4: Elite Racing, Guitar Rock Tour, Block Breaker Deluxe, Platinuym Solitaire, CSI Miami and Bubble Bash.

Related posts:

• Gameloft’s iPhone games scoring well with critics (pocketgamer.uk)
• Premium game store may be coming to iPhone (mblapps)
• Ubisoft Unloads GameLoft (mobilecrunch)
• Gameloft: We’ll release over 15 iPhone games this year — Blogger’s note: This post by Into Mobile was written in March 2008 about 15 games the company planned to develop for iPhone. Gameloft was one of the earliest, most aggresive companies to develop for the iPhone (IntoMobile)
• iPhone as gaming console – Playing iPhone games on TV (IntoMobile)

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Now, Slide to Play says it has “confirmed” the rumor, but does not know when the premium channel would be added. The article says “A publisher representative told us (on condition of anonymity) that Apple is prepping its major partners to produce “PSP-quality” games for the new category, and that the $19.99 price point is accurate.”

Now, we ask your thoughts on the rumor. Would you pay $19.99 for a premium game on the iPhone or not? To vote (poll daddy not working in this blog yet) take this poll that I sent out as a tweet.

Share why in the comments field below.

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1.Bluetooth 3.0

Gartner: The Bluetooth 3.0 specification will be released in 2009, with devices starting to arrive around 2010. Bluetooth 3.0 will likely include features such as ultra-low-power mode that will enable new devices, such as peripherals and sensors, and new applications, such as health monitoring.

mblapps: Bluetooth 3.0 would allow for health care applications (and other unique apps)  that would sync with monitoring devices. If Bluetooth 3.0 uses less battery life that means more power to play games on your cell.

2. Mobile User Interfaces (UIs)

Gartner: UIs will be an area of intense competition in 2009 and 2010, with manufacturers using UIs to differentiate their handsets and platforms. Better interfaces will make the mobile Web more accessible on small devices, and will be a better channel to customers and employees.

mblapps: Customers will be more likely to buy more advanced phones (that can use more applications) if the phones are easy to use. Compiled by mobile firm Mformation, a recent survey found that 85 percent of users reporting they were frustrated by the difficulty of getting a new phone up and working. An easy-to-use interface could also make customers enjoy using their phones, meaning they would be more likely to use their phones for more and more tasks.

3. Location Sensing

Gartner: Location awareness makes mobile applications more powerful and useful; in the future, location will be a key component of contextual applications. Location sensing will also enhance systems, such as mobile presence and mobile social networking. The growing maturity of on-campus location sensing using Wi-Fi opens up a range of new applications exploiting the location of equipment or people. Organizations delivering business or consumer applications should explore the potential of location sensing; however, exploiting it may create new privacy and security challenges.

mblapps: Gartner above spells out how location sharing will help mobile apps. The more users have access to GPS-enabled phones, the more people using services such as Loopt, Brightkite, urbanspoon and other location-based apps.

4. 802.11n

Gartner: 802.11n boosts Wi-Fi data rates to between 100 Mbps and 300 Mbps, and the multiple-input, multiple-output technology used by 802.11n offers the potential for better coverage in some situations. 802.11n is likely to be a long-lived standard that will define Wi-Fi performance for several years. High-speed Wi-Fi is desirable to stream media around the home and office.

mblapps: Increasingly faster Internet offered on mobile devices means developers will have more access than ever to mobile phones — skipping the downloading-apps business model to make web-only apps.

5. Display Technologies

Gartner: During 2009 and 2010, several new display technologies will impact the marketplace, including active pixel displays, passive displays and pico projectors.

mblapps: Mobile phones can be used to play games, watch movies and share presentations — but better displays make cell phones direct competitors with devices such as the Nintendo DS, Sony PSP and ultra-portable computers.

6. Mobile Web and Widgets

Gartner: The mobile Web is emerging as a low-cost way to deliver simple mobile applications to a range of devices. It has some limitations that will not be addressed by 2010 (for example, there will be no universal standards for browser access to handset services, such as the camera or GPS).

mblapps: Better access to the web from mobile phones means some standardizing of mobile Web sites, more opportunities for Web sites and services who could develop mobile sites rather than mobile apps and a chance for companies to increase branding by offering a similar experience from physical locations, the desktop web and mobile phones.

7. Cellular Broadband

Gartner: Wireless broadband exploded in 2008, driven by the availability of technologies such as high-speed downlink packet access and high-speed uplink packet access, combined with attractive pricing from cellular operators.

mblapps: These advancements would allow for faster transfers of large volumes of data — a key development to make video work on mobile phones, less battery life wasted while waiting for data transfers and less dependency on mobile networks.

8. Near Field Communication (NFC)

Gartner: NFC provides a simple and secure way for handsets to communicate over distances of a centimeter or two. NFC is emerging as a leading standard for applications such as mobile payment, with successful trials conducted in several countries. It also has wider applications, such as “touch to exchange information” (for example, to transfer an image from a handset to a digital photo frame, or for a handset to pick up a virtual discount voucher).

mblapps: Companies and customers would become less dependant on things such as credit cards, business cards, USB cords, coupons and other items as those could all someday be transferred wirelessly using mobile applications.

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